Notorious terrorist leader, Dogo Gide, and his cronies were carving out a territory for themselves before airstrikes conducted by the Nigerian Armed Forces destroyed their camp on Sunday, June 7.
HumAngle learnt that Gide and another terrorist leader, known as Kachalla Yellow, built this community ‘Birni’ (city) using the location of a village they ousted in 2013.
“No man can get there by foot,” this is to show how vast the Northwest region is, one source said to our correspondent.
“It is called Kango and is under Maru District, which sits by the north of Kuyanbana Forest in Zamfara State. Their idea is to build a place which they can control and where they can keep their weapons and families. They planned to expand the territory gradually.
“Right now, bandits from faraway Niger Republic, Katsina, Kogi, Niger, Sokoto, and Kaduna states are all coming to the place to settle and unite. It will take time before they rebuild in that area following the attack,” the source said.
The air raids were conducted under Operation Accord. According to the Coordinator of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, the Air Force established, through intelligence reports and surveillance, that makeshift structures were hidden in the dense forest and served as a hideout for bandits.
HumAngle sources revealed that Dogo Gide, who is reported to be receptive to Jihadi fighters in the region and a few other kingpins survived the military raid and were allegedly receiving treatment at Dandallah, Maru Local Government Area.
Kidnap victims who escaped because of the airstrikes noted that hundreds of terrorists were killed. They named other commanders affected by the operation to include Yellow, Daqi, and Shadi.
“The leaders were all taken by surprise when the Air Force raid took place early in the morning, they were all stationed in their respective holds called ‘Daba’,” one escapee, with knowledge of the activities of the armed groups close to Kuyanbana, told HumAngle.
“We saw military aircraft around 7 a.m. If it was 10 a.m., they wouldn’t have met the bandit leaders. Luckily, they came before everyone left. The first one came; unknown to them it was surveying the area. The second one that came dropped bombs. They came three times and each time bombed each of the groups.
“We have never felt the impact of these bombs like this time. I think they must have used different bombs during the raid.”
Another kidnap victim, who escaped and is now receiving treatment, said it was a life and death moment.
“Fortunately for us, they do not keep us close to their men and families. Many other kidnap victims must have died due to the impact of the raid,” he said.
“They all have been degraded. If you have never felt a bomb, you will think it is the sky crashing down on earth. I pray to God that I will never go through that experience again and that none of my loved ones will have to be in a similar situation.
“I’m currently with countless bruises and injuries. I slumped three times while trying to escape. In fact, if not that I was trying not to get killed, I could have packed guns. I ran through hundreds of dead and severely injured people and rifles.”
Support Our Journalism
There are millions of ordinary people affected by conflict in Africa whose stories are missing in the mainstream media. HumAngle is determined to tell those challenging and under-reported stories, hoping that the people impacted by these conflicts will find the safety and security they deserve.
To ensure that we continue to provide public service coverage, we have a small favour to ask you. We want you to be part of our journalistic endeavour by contributing a token to us.
Your donation will further promote a robust, free, and independent media.
Donate Here
That was the thing they should have been doing since. Weldone!
This is indeed very very commendable